𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠 𝗨𝗣

• Is there a time in your life when you received advice or a warning that helped you avoid a major setback? Share what happened.

• How do you typically respond when others disagree with or oppose your opinions or actions?

• Have you ever felt like giving up on something important? What made you decide to push through or persevere instead?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

“𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯; 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶: ‘𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.’ 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟱:𝟭𝟴–𝟮𝟬

(Read also 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟱:𝟮𝟭–𝟭𝟲:𝟰.)

Jesus tells His followers that the persecution they will endure is a result of the world’s rejection of the truth He speaks, and in the midst of this, He is calling them to stand firm, keeping His word and continuing to serve Him in the face of hardship. The call to serve Christ is not without cost, but it is a life that produces eternal fruit and fulfills God’s purpose in the world. Today, we will look at what Jesus said about the persecution His followers would face.

𝟭. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁.

𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶: ‘𝘈 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.’ 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟱:𝟮𝟬

As His followers, we can expect to face the same treatment Jesus received. Just as He was persecuted by the world, we too can expect persecution. The world can reject our message in the same way that it rejected Christ. Persecution in the name of Christ is part of living out His truth and serves as a reminder that we are sharing in His mission. Share about a time when you experienced persecution because of your faith. How did you persevere?

𝟮. 𝗪𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟱:𝟮𝟲–𝟮𝟳

This is the hope we can hold on to: We will never be alone in our journey of faith. The Holy Spirit is always with us, helping us testify to His truth, providing strength, wisdom, and courage to proclaim the gospel. With the Spirit’s presence and guidance, we are equipped and empowered to boldly share Christ’s message with the world, even in the midst of persecution. How did you experience the power of the Holy Spirit as you testify about Christ?

𝟯. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁.

“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟭𝟲:𝟭

By forewarning His disciples, Jesus is telling us that He is not taken by surprise when we experience persecution and trials. This truth will prevent us from being discouraged to the point of falling away from the mission He has called us to. Share a time when it was more bearable for you to go through hardship because you knew ahead of time that it would happen. How did you prepare for it?

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• Ask God to show you the things that are hindering you from sharing your faith with those around you. Pray that you will be steadfast in your faith even when you face persecution and hardship.

• Meditate on James 1:2–4. Write what the Holy Spirit reveals to you about how you are to respond whenever your faith is tested.

• Commit to pray for people you know who are facing persecution. Pray that they will be strong in the power of the Holy Spirit and that they will be surrounded by a community of believers who will continue to spur their faith.

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥

• Thank God for sending the Holy Spirit who strengthens you as you bear witness for Christ. Pray that you will be bold in testifying about Jesus knowing that the Holy Spirit is with you.

• Ask God for the grace to persevere in the midst of trials and persecution. Pray that you will experience the reality and power of God as you continue to follow Jesus even when it is difficult.

• Pray for the people who have ridiculed, mocked, or persecuted you in the past. Ask God to give you His heart for them and pray for an opportunity to extend kindness and be a witness for Jesus this week.